Novgorodian-Mongol War

The Novgorodian-Mongol War (1261-1279) was a war between the Grand Duchy of Novgorod and the Mongol Golden Horde. The Mongols, formerly the masters of Europe, declined after they splintered with a civil war between Kublai Khan and his brother Ariq Boke, and by the time that Kublai had cemented his position as Khan, Novgorod had conquered Belarus and Ukraine from the Mongols.

History
In 1238, the Mongol Empire launched forays into Europe, sacking Ryazan, Vladimir, and Moscow and forcing Novgorod to pay them handsome tribute. They were able to incorporate Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus into their empire, forming the "Golden Horde", with its capital at Kiev. This Horde was the only Islamic state in Europe, and it was harsh against its subjects; the Mongols reduced the risk of rebellion through cruelty against their conquered peoples. In 1241, they crushed the Polish, Silesian, and Teutonic army at the Battle of Liegnitz, and they invaded Hungary, defeating the Hungarians in the Battle of Mohi. The Mongols established themselves in southern Eastern Europe, especially in Ukraine and Belarus.

However, their empire was threatened with division after a civil war between Ariq Boke and Kublai Khan, two brothers feuding after the death of Mongke Khan in 1258. The Mongol Empire, shattered in its strength, proved to be a good target for the Orthodox Christian Novgorod, eager to reclaim lost lands and reintroduce its Christian beliefs to Ukraine and Belarus.

War
Grand Duke Alexander Nevski's son Prince Dmitrii the Honourable, who had campaigned against Rus rebels in southern Russia near the Belarusian border, was dispatched with an army to capture Chernigov from the Mongols in 1261, starting the war. The Novgorodians besieged Khanzada Ghazatai the Mean and captured the city in 1262, killing Ghazatai. With the Khanzada dead, the Mongol Empire was locked in warfare with the Novgorodians.

In 1264, Prince Dmitrii laid siege to the grand Golden Horde capital of Kiev, with his 439 Novgorodian and mercenary troops facing 251 Mongol troops under Khodhun Khan, the ruler of the Golden Horde. Kiev was conquered from the Mongols, and in 1270 the city of Zhytomyr (garrisoned by Khanzada Khugis) fell to the Novgorodians as well.

In 1272, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania joined the war against the Mongols, laying siege to Pinsk, forcing Dmitrii to halt his army and await an outcome. Arhgudhun Khan defended the city to the last man, but it fell in 1279. This year, the year that Kublai Khan had finally united his empire with the victory at the Battle of Yamen, was the last year of the Golden Horde's heyday. The Golden Horde was fully evicted from the Baltics, and it would later fragment and by 1502 it would join the Crimean Khanate.